Titus 2:10 (ESV) "not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior."
Jesus, the name above ALL names. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but that through Him the world could be saved. John 3:17
Colossians 1:13-18 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
If we abide in Him we shall live in Him. When we stand for Jesus’ commands to love God above all and love others with that same love we honor Him. Whoever believes that Jesus Christ is the only means to the Father and He is the visible manifestation of our triune God will be saved. John 3:16 Carla
God has liberated believers from the dominion of darkness. The apostle uses the common symbolism of light and darkness for good and evil, for God’s kingdom and Satan’s kingdom, that is found throughout the New Testament. The kingdom from which believers have been rescued is the kingdom of darkness (John 1:4–9; Ephesians 5:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:5; 1 Peter 2:9; 1 John 1:5).
The Greek word redemption points naturally to the payment of a price or ransom for the release of a slave. The slavery from which believers are released is not physical but spiritual. They are freed from bondage to sin by forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:7).
Paul interrupts his description of his prayers for the Colossians with a song of praise. These verses are generally recognized as an early Christian hymn celebrating the supremacy of Jesus Christ.
Firstborn over all creation could denote a priority in time or in rank. The word does not describe Christ as the first being created in time because the hymn proclaims that all things were “created by Him” and that “He is before all things.” Jesus is the eternal One who was before all creation. The idea of firstborn in the Hebrew culture did not require that one be the first son born. This was not the case with either Isaac or Jacob. But they were the firstborn in the sense that they were rightful heirs to the line of their fathers. Being firstborn referred more to rank and privilege than to order of birth.
Since Christ is God, He is supreme in rank over all creation. Yet He is not only the transcendent deity who created us; He is the One who died on our behalf (Philippians 2:6–18) and was subsequently raised from dead. Thus He is also the firstborn from the dead (verse 18). The first One who experienced the true resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20).
This early Christian hymn emphasizes the superiority of Christ over all creation. Christ is the One who created all things, whether they be material or immaterial, seen or unseen. This idea is in direct contradiction to the false teaching, later known as Gnosticism, that was developing in the Colossian church. In general, Gnostics believed that various angelic beings were the creators of the earth and that Christ was one among many of these angels.
All things were created through Him and for Him. Not only did Jesus create all things; everything was created for His purposes (Hebrews 1:2, where Christ is said to be the “heir of all things”).
But the glory of the earth, the heavens, or the sun, moon, and stars cannot be compared with the glory of His new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). Following the celebration of Christ’s authority over all creation, this early Christian hymn proceeds to proclaim His authority over the church. He is the head of His own body, which is the church. No one should underestimate the significance of the church, for it is in fact Christ’s body. The sovereign Creator of the universe, as Head of the church, provides leadership and oversight over it. No wonder He is so jealous for it (1 Corinthians 3:16, 17).
Christ was the first to be raised from the dead. His own resurrection guarantees that the church will one day be resurrected (1 Corinthians 15:12–28). The NKJV Study Bible
Ephesians 1:15–23 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:…
John 1:1–3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God…
Ephesians 1:6–7 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
Romans 11:36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
Revelation 3:14 “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write,‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:
This much I do know; if you guzzle the news these days (which is too easy to do), we live in a world where fear undermines and outmaneuvers grace far too often.
Most days, I read and shake my head. I can’t make sense of it. The meanness and violence, the uncertainty, the polarization. (Although we don't need the news to remind us that life can be, at times, harsh, unfair and unkind.)
The effect is that (even if only in a small way) each one of us knows that there are times when life is just “too much”.
Too heavy. Too precarious. Too uncertain. Too depleting.
Times when we've said (or prayed to any deity that would lend an ear), “Please help me. I don't think I have what it takes.”
Even then, I do want to believe in the triumph of grace.
Do you remember the movie, Jaws? There's a great scene where the local sheriff is chumming for the great white shark. And out of nowhere Jaws appears. The shark is gigantic, more enormous than the crew imagined possible. They are, understandably, terrified. (Of course, the music—da-dum, da-dum, da-dum—doesn’t hurt for amplifying the suspense.) The sheriff says carefully, “We're going to need a bigger boat.”
Yes. “We're going to need a bigger boat.”
I love this metaphor. (And a great job title: “Bigger boat business”.)
Think of our “boat” as a reservoir. Our reservoir of strength, and resolve, and grace, and permission, which assures us we cannot be undone by life's cruelty or capriciousness. Here’s the deal: Our reservoir is bigger.
Forgiveness is not denying the violence or hatred. And it is not feeling warm and tender about the offenders. Forgiveness is saying, “I give up my right to get even.” (Thank you, Lewis Smedes.)
Life is not about what I “deserve,” as if life must yield or bend to my druthers (which becomes a life lived so self-consciously).
No. This is about… The life we create. The love we share. And the light we shine.
The fine print here is that we live this way only when we are free to be vulnerable and tender hearted. It's not that I have anything against striving or praying or achieving or dreaming. They are all well and good in their place. But it backfires if there's an implicit agreement (or hope) that I can avoid life's pitfalls—as if a pitfall means that I've failed at life. Because what do I do with such an agreement? I live cautiously. I choose to be afraid. I close down my heart. I withhold my love and my forgiveness. And I rage on the inside.
“The plain fact is that the planet does not need more successful people. But it does desperately needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of every kind. It needs people who live well in their place. It needs people of moral courage willing to join the fight to make the world habitable and humane. And these qualities have little to do with success as we have defined it.” David Orr
True, there are many times when we may not see the Holy One in ourselves, but it shouldn't keep us from singing, "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine," followed by, “Don’t forget to pray for those men.” “Sabbath Moments” Terry Hershey
"[Jesus], though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men" (Philippians 2:6-7).
In His final act on earth before He sacrificed His life on the cross, Jesus demonstrated His humility as He washed His disciples' feet and gave this charge: "Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him" (John 13:16).
In our flesh, it may feel difficult at times to put the cause of Christ ahead of our own wants or desires, especially when we feel like we've been wronged or like someone else's wrong is going unnoticed. But when we remember what Jesus did for us, we can be encouraged and rejoice. Our God is not a distant God who only tells us what we should and should not do. Jesus left His rightful place of dignity and honor to come to us, walk with us, and show us the way to life in Him (2 Corinthians 8:9). First5
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